Jeff- thank you for the survey contacts and your point of view on these boats

Thanks for the information everyone. I made an offer on the Tartan, but I have competition. We'll see! If this one doesn't work out, the Paceship is still in the water... Ill take the whole family down and try out the space.

the mere mention of the A4 can get some very "passionate" responses. There are posts all over the boards about them and how they drag the price of really good boats down to give away prices.
Personally I don't want gasoline anywhere near me when on the water. I see allot of power boats go by and the raw gas smell alone scares me! vapors in closed spaces or compartments = disaster (imho) But on the other hand, who actually has had A4 blow up?
Dropping a keel is not all that hard it's the cost that would worry me. From what I understand yards don't like to tie up the travel lift while the keel is off the boat. Heck, if you get a boat that is pristine in every other way (I've actually considered this) you can repower with die$sel! Still though, there are hundreds, thousands? of boats out there with diesels that are cheap enough.Maryland sailboats for sale by owner.

the mere mention of the A4 can get some very "passionate" responses. There are posts all over the boards about them and how they drag the price of really good boats down to give away prices.
Personally I don't want gasoline anywhere near me when on the water. I see allot of power boats go by and the raw gas smell alone scares me! vapors in closed spaces or compartments = disaster (imho) But on the other hand, who actually has had A4 blow up?
Dropping a keel is not all that hard it's the cost that would worry me. From what I understand yards don't like to tie up the travel lift while the keel is off the boat. Heck, if you get a boat that is pristine in every other way (I've actually considered this) you can repower with die$sel! Still though, there are hundreds, thousands? of boats out there with diesels that are cheap enough.Maryland sailboats for sale by owner.

Thanks Denise. This boat is inexpensive enough that if I have to put a new diesel in it, it would bring it in line with many other boats of the same model price wise. In fact, Ill plan on that down the road, but I'll try the A4 for now. I'll find out in a few hours... eck.. butterflies in the stomach! Thanks for the link too. I hadn't seen this site yet.

My tartan 30 had an A4 for years. It finally died when the cooling circiut rusted up and it would overheat (it did not have a heat exchanger). I now have a 3 cyl universal diesel which has proven to be very reliable. I think your plan to live with the A4 for now is a good one as long as you understand the safety measures involved and keep it well maintained. I hope you get the boat, we love ours.

Geeze you guys are tough. I bought a 25' that is rated to sleep 5 (this was back in 1969 when everyone smoked and weighed 110 lbs). I know that in today's reality that's really more like 4 people.

For the OP's stated purpose of weekend cruising with 2 teens, the 26' would have worked. Not to mention, as one of the other posters stated, the teens aren't likely to come out every time, especially when they see the amount of work involved, like loading, stowing, mooring, clean-up afterwards, etc, to say nothing of the work required to actually operate the boat.

The survey was completed this morning. There were a couple of things: muffler and exhaust hose on the engine, and one major issue - a 7' x 1.5' section of the deck under the starboard genoa track was soft.

Is this deck issue as serious as it sounds? I am about ready to walk away from this one, but the surveyor did say many other aspects of the boat (hull and interior) were very well cared for and in good shape.

If nothing else, I accompanied the surveyor all morning and got a good lesson on how to inspect the next one.

The survey was completed this morning. There were a couple of things: muffler and exhaust hose on the engine, and one major issue - a 7' x 1.5' section of the deck under the starboard genoa track was soft.

Is this deck issue as serious as it sounds? I am about ready to walk away from this one, but the surveyor did say many other aspects of the boat (hull and interior) were very well cared for and in good shape.

If nothing else, I accompanied the surveyor all morning and got a good lesson on how to inspect the next one.

A deck repair is not a trivial matter...but in the big picture of an older boat, one, limited issue like amounts to "almost new". Most any boat will have survey issues, most will have a lot. Sounds like you are starting in reasonably good shape, a limited deck repair like this is only some $$$$ money, get a good yard to quote for you...more likely than not the seller will end up eating most or all of a repair like this. You found it, so will the next buyer, so the seller needs to deal with it. You now have more information, no reason not to move ahead if otherwise an attractive boat.

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